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Saldibeno
Saldibeno (Classical Arazi for The World Tree, /saldi'bɛnɔ/; Bantazi: /saʊ̯dɪ'bɛnə/) is the World Tree and cosmological axis in Arazi Polytheist and Obenist mythology and cosmology. Depictions Saldibeno is imagined as a huge, universe-spanning tree of an uncertain species, growing from the unfathomable depths of Creation beneath to the endless void of the Creation above. Physical images of the tree usually depict it is an imaginary tree species, an olive tree, apple tree or a beech tree, though the actual species of the tree is not considered to be of any importance. The tree has three large branches; upon two of them rests the world we inhabit - Sutarna, crowned by the canopy of the other two branches - Erłedurn, The Sun House, and Amrasengu, the Moon Wolf. The Leaves of Amrasengu, silvery blue in colour, form the background for the passing of the Sun, Erłe, and are visible from Sutarna as the blue sky of daytime. The million tiny leaves of Erłedurn form the background for the Moon and are too small to black out the endless, black void beyond. However, these leaves are seen from Sutarna as the countless stars of the night sky. In other accounts, however, there is another branch Marsozi, the Silver Branch, a smaller one growing right through Sutarna at the highest, central peak of the world, called Fyéde or The Crown, ''and it is this branch whose leaves are the stars. The third branch of Saldibeno, ''Fetśu or The Road, is long and whip-like, unlike the two other major branches. Fetśu ''does not support any single world; however, it stretches around the tree in a never-ending spiral, linking together the myriad of lesser worlds that constantly orbit and dance around the Tree of World. The Worlds The central world of the Tree is [[Sutarna|'Sutarna']], the realm inhabited primarily by humans. This is the only world supported by the Sun and Moon branches, the only world resting firmly on these branches like on the shoulders of Atlas. Through the mid-point of Sutarna grows ''Fetśu, ''beginning its endless travels through the void of Creation. A number of other, lesser worlds orbit the Tree in a constant dance. These worlds are not as firm and ''real as Sutarna is, but they are nevertheless still stable and alive, anchored by the Road to the main body of Saldibeno. These worlds, together with Sutarna, are sometimes called the Core worlds. Beyond the core worlds, an endless, infinite number of other worlds exist, circling the Tree, occasionally being touched by the Road and sometimes getting lost in the Void. These worlds are much more unstable and much less real and alive as the Core worlds, often consisting of planes of light and esoteric mist, but hardly ever having any matter. The Core Worlds The Core Worlds are the worlds continuously connected to the Tree by the Road. All these worlds are physical, real and alive, more or less stable throughout time and, when and if changing, doing so slowly and on incomprehensibly long time scales. The Core Worlds are: * Fersaldi, 'the Under-World, home of the titanic serpent gnawing at the Trees roots and the three sisters nourishing the serpent, as well as the three sisters locked in an eternal battle to protect the tree. * 'Zisaldi, 'the Upper-World, the Endless Void of Creation, far above the sky and the stars, further than the Sun and Moon ever travel, Zisaldi is a realm inhabited by celestial and cosmic beings of immense power and wisdom, seldom paying any attention to what is happening in the other worlds, as well as the much lesser elementals of air and wind, the sons and daughters of storms. * 'Relayoré, The Burning, the home of Sun, a world of fire and brimstone, but also of light, life and warmth, The Burning World is inhabited by elemental beings of fire and pure light, great fire-breathing beasts as well as the Sun's oxen - huge bronze-coloured animals, pulling the Sun's chariot and, when not doing that, grazing in the fields of open flame and piercing light. * Yurtoré, The Freezing, the estranged twin world of the Burning, is the original home world of the Moon, a vast expanse of icy plains, mountains of crystals and sees of shimmering glass. The Freezing World is inhabited by a variety of beings, despite the bitter cold of the place, from the elementals of water and ice to the great giants of the Cristal Mountains. * Heśeledo, The Mountainous One, the domain of the Spirit of Mountain, a world of rolling hills and jagged mountains piercing the veil of the Void beyond, a world of barren rock and fertile green valleys; from this world stem the elementals of Earth and Stone and all green life, the Trolls of the Mountains, the Swamps and the Forests, those who embody the raw power of creation, the rule of the physical world above all. * Tuloré, The Greening One, later called Ortyeng, The Deserted, started out as a green and fertile world of meadows and forests, teeming with fantastical beasts and the elementals of all green life, home of the wonderful Well of Creation, but was later burned inadvertently by the Sun. Almost all beings of the world then dispersed, deserting and abandoning the world, leaving a desert of white-hot sand and a light blue sky populate by giant birds, for ever flying in hopes for finding a place cool enough to land and rest.